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Posts Tagged ‘eCommerce’
Pinterest has quickly become the third most popular social network on the Web and, in doing so, the pinboarding social network has turned out to be a whole lot more than pretty photos and themed boards.
Instead, it has become a very valuable tool for e-commerce merchants.
A recent study reveals that referral traffic from Pinterest to e-commerce solutions provider Shopify stores is equal to the amount of traffic that comes from Twitter, and more than the amount that comes from Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined.
And not only is more traffic coming from Pinterest than most other social networks, but the traffic is also more valuable. The study reveals that these consumers are 10 percent more likely to make a purchase compared to those who arrive from other social sites, and are also spending an average of $80 on their purchases – double the average order value of Facebook shoppers.
Merchants who are leveraging the social pinboarding site should also know that the study found that pins with prices receive 36 percent more likes than those without prices.
And it’s not too late for retailers to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon because the conversion rates for e-commerce sites are still growing. In fact, the number of Shopify orders generated from pins has more than quadrupled during the last six months – from 75 orders in September 2011 to 320 orders in April 2012.
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Expand Your Digital Reach to Multichannel Shoppers
posted by Linc Wonham @ 10:00 AM
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
According to research conducted by Forrester Consulting, 68 percent of U.S. multichannel shoppers are more likely to purchase from brands whose products are readily available through a variety of physical and virtual touchpoints.
To help retailers achieve this goal, e-commerce solutions provider Demandware has expanded its Multichannel Commerce offering with a prescriptive framework that extends their digital commerce efforts to smartphones, tablets, in-store kiosks and other Web-enabled devices. The Multichannel Commerce solution combines Demandware’s cloud-based digital commerce platform, multichannel accelerators, pre-built integrations from Demandware LINK technology partners, education, implementation services and solution support to provide a cohesive framework for extending digital commerce capabilities to wherever and whenever multichannel consumers interact with a brand.
The expanded solution includes a set of accelerators – technology and strategy tools – that help deliver a consistent consumer experience across traditional Web, mobile, social, call center and in-store silos. Key accelerators are Open Commerce APIs to syndicate and synchronize commerce capabilities and content across channels; a mobile reference application with store locator functionality, and multichannel impact assessment tool and reference architecture for prioritizing, depicting and enabling key multichannel capabilities.
Demandware’s Multichannel Commerce solution is part of a suite of solutions that also includes Global Commerce, End-to-End Commerce, Emerging Commerce, Mobile Commerce and Web Commerce.
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Squeezing Every Bit of Javascript Power – Making Use of NivoSlider
posted by Alex @ 1:00 AM
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
NivoSlider has become the most popular image slider available on the web today. Started as a side project quickly became a huge success, celebrating over 1 million downloads in its first year.
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There are a few necessities that e-commerce merchants need to set in place before they can run their stores, including a business plan, merchandise and, of course, a secure payment processing solution.
Companies are now bridging the payment gap between consumer and merchant by offering more versatile and innovative payment options such as mobile payment wallets. However, not all of these solutions are created the same. While some offer more features, others may offer lower rates -- which is why merchants should be fully aware of what they are committing to before making a decision.
Take a look at these innovative payment processing solutions below:
Although Square isn’t the newest mobile payment processing solution, it doesn’t mean that it is outdated. This solution can be used to accept payments from mobile devices through a square-shaped reader. Retailers simply need to sign up for the free reader, which is compatible with iOS and Android devices, as well as install the free Square app in order to leverage this platform. Merchants are charged a rate of 2.75 percent per swipe for Visa, MasterCard, Discover and AmEx credit cards.
This solution can also be leveraged to create a loyalty program or even turn an iPad into a register, which enables merchants to add inventory, quickly process payments and wirelessly print receipts.
Created by arguably the most popular online payment provider, PayPal Here uses a triangular card reader to accept credit card payments from mobile devices. And aside from accepting credit and debit cards, the platform can also be used to issue invoices, track cash payments, process checks and, of course, accept PayPal payments.
Processing checks and issuing invoices are free, but PayPal Here charges merchants a rate of 2.7 percent for card swipes. Merchants can download the app and apply to obtain the card reader for free, and also have the ability to access live customer support through the platform.
Similar to Square or PayPal Here, Intuit GoPayment enables merchants to accept payments from mobile devices. The solution’s app and credit card reader are free, with credit card transaction fees for Visa, Mastercard, Discover and AmEx charging merchants 2.7 percent.
This platform provides retailers with the ability to text or email receipts to consumers, sync GoPayment transactions with QuickBooks software and manage transactions from the Merchant Service Center.
The PayAnywhere payment processing solution can also turn mobile devices into credit card readers. Merchants must download the free app and sign up for the free card reader in order to start accepting credit cards on their iOS and Android devices.
PayAnywhere charges merchants a 2.69 percent fee for swiped credit cards, offers real-time and heat map reporting for credit card and cash transactions, as well as a free merchant portal for deeper consumer insights. Retailers can also earn money by referring PayAnywhere to other merchants.
VeriFone offers a couple of different payment processing options. The company's PAYware Connect platform is a hosted payment processing solution that is cloud-based, and enables merchants to conduct transactions on mobile devices and online.
However, merchants who are looking for a mobile payment solution more similar to Square can also choose to leverage the Sail platform that works on both iOS and Android devices. VeriFone offers a Sail Pro and Sail Go plan, both of which come with a free card reader. The Pro plan comes with a low swipe rate of 1.95 percent, as well as a monthly fee of $9.95, while the Go plan has no monthly fee but comes with a 2.7 swipe rate.
Retailers can use LevelUp to accept payments and set up a loyalty program through a mobile device. LevelUp is an app that works on both iOS and Android devices and enables consumers to link a credit or debit card to their account, in which they receive a unique QR code that can be used to make purchases.
Merchants can accept payments by downloading the LevelUp merchant app or obtaining the LevelUp dock for their counter, and are charged a 2-percent transaction fee per purchase. This solution can also be used to set up a loyalty program, view consumer purchasing analytics, send email receipts, obtain weekly reports and more.
This mobile application can be used to accept payments at brick-and-mortar stores as well as online. Google Wallet enables consumers to store their credit card information inside their mobile devices and make payments by tapping their phones on readers at physical store locations or by clicking a button on participating sites while surfing the Web.
Merchants can make their businesses Google Wallet-ready by offering contactless payment terminals within brick-and-mortar stores or by adding the Google Wallet button to their websites. Retailers can also utilize this platform to drive traffic by pushing offers that customers can save and redeem with Google Wallet in-stores, or partner Google Wallet with an existing loyalty program to retain more customers.
This payment solution is a little different from those previously mentioned because the focus is on low cost and not mobile. With Dwolla, all transactions less than $10 are free, with all other transactions costing only 25 cents.
Dwolla users can make payments online or in brick-and-mortar locations by connecting their bank accounts to their Dwolla accounts. Merchants can leverage this platform by utilizing the company’s free online, mobile and social tools.
This platform basically cuts out the middle man (or becomes the middle man -- depending on how you look at it) by transferring a customer's money through the Dwolla network directly into the merchant's bank account, so that no plastic cards are required and therefore no credit card fees are charged.
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Three New Additions to the Adobe Marketing Suite
posted by Michael Garrity @ 3:00 PM
Sunday, May 20, 2012
At this week's Adobe Digital
Marketing Summit in London, hot on the heels of the release of Creative Suite 6 and the
Creative Cloud, the software company announced three new products.
Each release is aimed at helping marketers “Build compelling personalized experiences that address complex digital marketing problems,” says Kevin Cochrane, Adobe's vice president of enterprise marketing.
Content management on the Web is fundamentally changing and it was with that in mind, Cochrane explained, that Adobe crafted a set of new products to help digital marketers focus on creating not only compelling content but also compelling user experiences. He identified three primary issues that digital marketers face in the current environment.
The first is, obviously, driving revenue growth, especially with consumers who seem to become increasingly indifferent toward online advertising. On today’s Web, users are interested in targeted, personalized experiences, or they’re not interested at all.
The second consideration Adobe made was with regards to marketing budgets, specifically ensuring that every dollar spent on a digital marketing campaign is spent wisely. Thus, Adobe's solution is designed to help marketers optimize their spending by measuring and analyzing the impact of their efforts to determine the most efficient places in which they spend.
Finally, Adobe wanted to find ways to monetize a marketer’s audience by making each user they reach a valuable asset in driving conversions.
The resulting products were Adobe CQ 5.5 Social Communities, CQ eCommerce and CQ Cloud Manager.
Cloud Manager
A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) app for
businesses to quickly launch marketing initiatives in the cloud, providing
access to an integrated set of Web Experience Management (WEM) services for the
creation, management, measurement and optimization of user-personalized
experiences on websites, mobile devices and social media.
After starting a marketing campaign, Cloud Manager lets users remotely control a complete digital marketing solution from the cloud, leverage capabilities available through a rich partner ecosystem and monitor Adobe CQ and cloud infrastructure using real-time metering capabilities, among other handy features.
E-Commerce
An integrated solution that also leverages Adobe’s WEM platform. eCommerce manages and
optimizes the buying process for websites, mobile devices and social media by delivering a branded, personalized experience
incorporating the hybris multichannel commerce software.
Extending the reach of personalized digital marketing campaigns across these channels allows marketers to present a targeted experience to consumers from the point-of-engagement to the point-of-sale, regardless of the device they’re using. In addition, e-commerce sites and apps can be delivered on-premises or from the cloud, and using eCommerce in tandem with Cloud Manager lets marketers speed the creation of branded, personalized e-commerce sites that continuously scale to meet demands across all channels.
Social
Communities
Marketers can better leverage social engagement across
owned digital properties to build loyalty and drive conversions. Information
from leading social networks (gathered, again, over multiple channels) helps
organizations make a social connection with users by allowing them to log into
their Facebook or Twitter accounts, and then use their profile information to
personalize the consumer’s experience.
This product can also be used with other sources, like a CRM or website profile, to create a more comprehensive view of each unique customer.
Plus, new social plugins make it possible for customers to share content with their friends, making every new customer a potential brand advocate, and immediately increasing each consumer’s value. Using this solution with eCommerce lets businesses embed social elements into the product selection and purchasing processes of their owned properties.
This new suite of digital marketing products has been built to appeal to each unique consumer’s interests from the beginning, and then maintain that personalized experience throughout the purchasing process to increase the chances of conversion, maximize the value of the money spent and, with any luck, create a lifelong customer and brand advocate.
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Problems with the checkout process is still the biggest loss for most e-commerce businesses. Following the tips provided in this article you'll be able to diminish the checkout abandonment rate.
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The mother of all holidays is quickly approaching, which means that merchants should be focusing their marketing initiatives on all of their gift-giving customers.
Mother’s Day madness is in full force because the big day is less than a week away, which means that there is related content floating all over the Web – from sales and promotions to inspirational photos and videos. Let this act as your wake-up call! Although merchants should have already started their marketing campaigns, it’s not too late to get started or to step it up a few notches.
Here are three tips for implementing a Mother’s Day marketing campaign onto your website:
A Mom-optimized Website
If you haven’t already, it is time to optimize the customer experience of your website for Mother’s Day. This means featuring the best-selling and most appropriate gifts on your landing page, as well as adding a special Mother’s Day section to the top of your menu bar.
By doing this, you will cut out the guesswork for your customers and enable them to find exactly what they want. Merchants can also provide special coupon codes or free gifts for purchases that exceed a specified amount.
Nordstrom’s provides a great example of a Mom-optimized website by prominently featuring a “Gifts For Mom” section in the menu bar, as well as featuring “Mother’s Day Gifts Under $100” on its landing page. Look through your analytics data from last year at this time to see just what was driving traffic and generating sales.
Email Marketing
This is an especially good week to put your email list to good use. Merchants should be promoting last-minute gift ideas for the big day via a series of email suggestions. Remember to use catchy subject lines that convey both the immediacy and importance of finding the perfect gift.
I have been the recent recipient of many Mother’s Day-themed emails, including this Smashbox message, which reinforces the limited amount of shopping days left and prominently features free shipping – which could be the determining factor of a sale.
Social Media Marketing
Social Media is a marketer’s best friend, especially for pushing sales when there is limited time left to make purchases in time for a holiday. If you are lucky enough to be one of the first businesses with the Facebook Offer feature at your disposal, waste no time in taking advantage of it this week by offering a coupon that will push them to your website and/or brick-and-mortar store.
Additionally, aside from normal promotions on social sites like Facebook and Twitter, merchants can leverage newer sites to step up their social game. For example, merchants can create a Mother’s Day pinboard on Pinterest to keep consumers thinking about the holiday and encourage gift ideas.
Nine West not only used this strategy for Mother’s Day, but also made a contest out of it by enabling website visitors to win gifts after they have followed the company on Pinterest and re-pinned images from the “Nine West Hearts Mom” board.
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Analysis of the Most Popular WordPress eCommerce Plugins
posted by Alex @ 1:30 AM
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
When it comes to transferring a WordPress powered website to an online shop the best solution is an e-commerce WordPress plugin. With it's help adjusting and running your shop online will take minimum time and efforts.
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Wrapp Presents a New Facebook Marketing Platform
posted by AllisonH @ 12:00 PM
Monday, April 30, 2012
There is a new way for your business to increase its social media visibility – and it just might come with a big (virtual) bow on top.
Social gift-giving service Wrapp is a Swedish startup that enables consumers to socially and virtually send their friends gift cards. For example, instead of writing the same generic happy birthday message or other greeting on your friends’ Facebook walls, Wrapp enables users to send free or paid gift cards to friends within their social networks.
However, consumers aren't the only ones that benefit from this platform because the service can also help increase a brand's Facebook visibility, drive sales and generate in-person and online traffic for participating merchants. In fact, during the last four months almost 180,000 people gifted more than 1.5 million free promotional giftcards to their friends with the Wrapp service, and participating merchants reported that each sale averaged a four to six times increased value of the free promotional gift card that was being redeemed.
“Wrapp is the ultimate win, win, win app,” says Hjalmar Winbladh, Wrapp’s CEO. “You and I get to give our friends free gifts and promotional gift cards from great retailers, the gifts we give are stored in our friends’ phones so they’re always with them when they want to buy something they really want, and the merchants get a proven customer acquisition and retention platform built on Wrapp’s friend-to-friend marketing for conducting performance-based campaigns.”
Wrapp was previously only available in Europe, however this week marks the company’s U.S. launch with retail partnerships from some big-name retailers including Gap, H&M, Sephora, Angry Birds, and the Wall Street Journal.
Merchants who would like to partner with Wrapp can sign up on the company’s website.
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Imagine This: Major Moves for Magento Merchants
posted by AllisonH @ 12:00 PM
Thursday, April 26, 2012
It looks like e-commerce platform Magento is running at full-speed ahead.
Magento, which is a division of eBay’s X.commerce initiative, was the recipient of a bundle of new updates this week at the Imagine eCommerce Conference that took place in Las Vegas.
The new updates offer merchants and developers the ability to create more customized and easier shopping experiences for consumers, and are available in the latest versions of the Magento Community and Magento Enterprise software. The biggest updates include the integration of HTML5 for Magento Mobile and PayPal Payments.
Since smartphones are becoming one of the most popular channels for consumers, Magento is now offering its merchants a simple way to create a more compelling mobile shopping experience.
Magento’s new mobile offerings include gesture-based controls, multi-touch and image scaling, device-specific audio and video capabilities. Other new features aim at creating a user-friendly experience for consumers, including an easy-to-use search and results display, the ability to drag and drop products to the shopping cart, the capability to zoom and easily swipe between product images, as well as the inclusion of cross- and up-sell features.
The customizable HTML5 theme also supports iPhone, Android and Mobile Opera browsers.
“From research to checkout and beyond, merchants can now drive conversions more effectively, increase order size and build customer loyalty,” says Roy Rubin, general manager of Magento and chief product and customer officer of X.commerce.
The other major Magento announcement is the integration of the PayPal small-business product suite, which helps merchants compete in multi-channel retail environments. PayPal Payments offers merchants one solution that makes it simple to accept payments online, from a mobile device or in-person.
PayPal Payments is available in three tiers, with every tier offering a full suite of payment solutions. Magento users can select PayPal Standard, Advanced, Pro or Express Checkout directly from the Magento platform -- based on which solution best meets their business' needs.
Additional updates to the Magento platform include advanced visitor segmentation capabilities, the ability to enable consumers to create multiple wish lists and an improved content management system for Magento Enterprise users, as well as the automatic generation of coupon codes for both Magento Enterprise and Community merchants.
Magento has been gaining a lot of momentum recently. Prior to the Imagine Conference, the company announced partnerships with VisiStat, Bronto Software and 500friends. The X.commerce open ecosystem that Magento is a part of provides users with a large selection of end-to-end commerce technologies, including shopping carts, payment services, inventory management, marketplace integration, SEO and more.
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Consumer demands continue to drive technology innovation while e-commerce managers and Internet professionals try to keep pace with their evolving behavior and growing number of touch points.
Whether accessed through a tablet, a mobile application or a computer, the website must ultimately deliver a unified experience and maintain a consistent look and feel of the brand. Combining this challenge with the need to anticipate the “next big thing” in technology to enhance the cross-channel shopping experience, and keeping your digital backbone in optimum shape, might seem downright daunting.
So, how can retailers deliver a digital experience that attracts and retains consumers?
Simply stated, consider a scalable and flexible cloud-based commerce platform that enables innovation. If your commerce site is frozen in time, bound to on-premise infrastructure that limits growth and necessitates the involvement of outside IT teams for major overhauls, you cannot continually enhance brand interactions. The accelerated pace of consumer control, access and knowledge requires that retailers ready themselves for frequent change.
This cannot be done easily or quickly on an on-premise platform.
Having a digital commerce management (DCM) strategy in place can help retailers better manage all digital interactions with consumers across devices, applications and channels. There are several important facets to DCM, but success is predicated on a cloud delivery model.
Here is why is a commerce cloud is essential?
Innovation is seamless: Commerce in the cloud enables brands and retailers to continuously develop new and innovative digital experiences. New enhancements are frequently and quietly introduced to the commerce environment. Unlike on-premise software, capabilities are automatically delivered without a potential laborious and costly upgrade cycle.
Site is open: Openness is key to a successful digital strategy. The commerce cloud enables organizations to invite partners and developers to complement core functionality. Because of the common code base, integration and developer customization is not point-in-time that must be maintained over time.
Merchandising control: Cloud platforms also encourage user empowerment that allow experts to drive all aspects of the user experience – from cross-channel merchandising, to unique innovation and quick reaction to market opportunities. Merchants and marketers have complete control of the consumer shopping experience.
So, while competitors’ requests are waiting in a queue or hampered by an older version of software, the commerce cloud delivers capabilities to drive brand loyalty and advocacy.
Enjoy the "Ah Ha" moment: Every retailer dreams of that magic moment when their business changes forever and consumers bust down their virtual doors, but most cringe when they contemplate how their infrastructure will react to a deluge of traffic. Those occurrences can be overwhelmingly exciting and incredibly stressful at the same time, but cloud platforms should provide peace of mind.
A scalable, secure, and stable foundation ensures an efficient response to heightened traffic and effective allocation of additional capacity when required. An on-premise or merely hosted commerce product might need weeks – and costly hardware – to manage this possible surge in traffic. The commerce cloud is already built and ready to plug into.
Retailers often find themselves in reactive modes, working furiously to respond to new customer demands. Commerce that leverages proven cloud environments allows retailers to streamline operations providing more time for merchandising, innovation and the creation of new brand experiences.
This model offers more control of the customer experience and enables faster response to new consumer trends like multichannel, mobile and social commerce. In this digital world in which we live, why invest in anything other than a digital backbone in the cloud?
About the Author: As vice president of product and solutions marketing for Demandware, Rob Garf taps into his more than 20 years of retail industry experience. Prior to Demandware, Garf served as the global retail strategy leader of IBM Global Business Services and was vice president of Retail Strategies Service at AMR Research, where he led coverage of customer intelligence and multichannel operations.
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Different Strokes: Design Preferences in U.S. and China
posted by Linc Wonham @ 10:00 AM
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Digital marketing agency Acquity Group has released its Global Usability Study that surveyed American and Chinese consumers on their website preferences to better understand online shopping behaviors of consumers in China.
The findings revealed that both groups of consumers favored the American-style Web design over the Chinese-style design, especially on the homepage. American consumers gave the American style a 78-percent approval rating while Chinese consumers gave it an approval rating of 72 percent.
Different Web Experiences
Three Web page layouts were shown in both American-style and Chinese-style designs. Separate versions of a hypothetical e-commerce apparel site were created based on a set of generally accepted design principles for each market. Participants were asked to evaluate the three pages from each style of site – a homepage, a category landing page and an individual product detail and order page.
The American-style design featured a clean homepage with a large, branded image, limited selection of promotions and information, with little or no scrolling capabilities, and similarly structured product category landing and detail pages.
The Chinese-style site was much more information-heavy, characteristic of that market's typical retail website. Product images, descriptions and promotions were all included upfront on the homepage, with long pages and opportunities for continuous scrolling. This was consistent with the category landing and product detail pages.
American audiences tended to rate both design styles an average of 5 to 10 percent higher than Chinese audiences (75-80 percent, versus 70-75 percent), indicating that the Chinese respondents had a slightly more critical perception of Web design styles. Chinese respondents pointed out the American-style design's use of “Big pictures can drive attention, but the information was not enough”, and that the Chinese-style had “Too many product pictures on the homepage.”
Chinese respondents also noted a lack of advertised promotions more readily than Americans did, and were more frequently affected by price points.
“Creating a positive and rewarding Web experience is a complex formula of design best practices coupled with cultural preferences,” says Dominic Lee, Acquity Group’s creative director. “Although we went into the study with general cultural assumptions, the insights we collected about consumer preferences in both countries were unexpected. The cultural styles were not as easily categorized as we initially believed. This tells us that it is time to cross-pollinate the international e-commerce space.”
Entry into Foreign Markets
The point of the study was to generate analytics for marketing and IT officers as they continue to evaluate their digital channels in foreign markets. It revealed that consumers in the Chinese and U.S. markets have distinct tastes when it comes to interacting with digital channels, suggesting that marketers will need to explore new ways to merchandise a site and display product information when moving their brands into foreign markets.
“U.S. companies can save on costs by re-using designs and functionality from domestic-style home pages and landing pages, but winning over the Chinese consumer will require a product-page redesign to enhance both the quality and quantity of product information, which will likely prove beneficial to their home market as well,” says Lee. “Most Chinese companies launching in the U.S. should start from scratch with a new U.S.-style home page, but also keep in mind that U.S. consumers value the enhanced information featured in Chinese-style designs.”
The entire Global Usability Study can be downloaded here.
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A new report from RichRelevance reveals insights about mobile shoppers – including iPad users, who are driving most of the shopping, browsing and purchasing behaviors within the mobile channel.
"Twenty years later, Apple's ground-breaking 'Think Different' ad campaign can be recast as 'Shop Different' for the iPad," said RichRelevance CEO David Selinger. "To succeed in this quickly evolving landscape, retailers need to understand how shopping behavior changes as consumers hop between devices, and be prepared to tailor the shopping experience in every channel, ensuring continuity and seamlessness regardless of choice of access.”
According to the study, iPad users spend significantly more time and money on retailer sites than other mobile users, accounting for 68 percent of shoppers. Additionally, iPad also has the greatest conversion rates (1.5 percent), and accounts for 90 percent of all mobile revenue.
Another noteworthy statistic shows that iPad users purchase more expensive items than mobile phone users and spend more on orders. According to the study, the iPad has the highest average order value (AOV) at $158, ahead of other mobile devices ($105) and even more than desktop users ($153). However, even though the purchases are more expensive, iPad shoppers purchase fewer items per order than other shoppers.
One way retailers can create a better brand experience on the iPad is by collaborating with catalog apps such as Catalogue from The Find and Google Catalogs, which feature products and catalogs from retailers, and provide an interactive shopping experience for consumers.
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Tablets More Important Than Social to Merchants
posted by Peter A. Prestipino @ 8:30 AM
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The idea that social networks will revolutionize the ecommerce experience has yet to materialize. But tablets? That’s another story.
Baynote’s 2011 Online Holiday Shopping Experience report, which surveyed 1000 consumers between Cyber Monday and Christmas Eve, revealed that 80.2 percent of shoppers said that personal connections on Facebook or another social networking site did not influence their shopping decision. Just 9 percent of consumers purchased something from a retailers Facebook fan page. Keep in mind however that it is not always easy to measure "influence" as the sales cycle can in some cases be exceedingly long for social media.
For merchants that have optimized for the tablet experience however, Baynote's data looks very promising. 48.6 percent of tablet owners made a purchase through their device. And it's not just applications; responsive design presents a low-cost, high impact means to optimize for tablets.
One of the most interesting data points in the Baynote study was the relevance of personalized product recommendations by channel, and the usefulness of promotions. In both cases, email was the channel cited most frequently, beating out both search and social for the top spot.
Additional findings from the study, as it relates to retail websites in particular, include:
- 59% of all consumers purchased a product on a retail website.
- 93% of all consumers researched a product online and then purchased in a store.
Related content on Baynote from Website Magazine:
- A Perfect Pair: Personalization and Conversion
- Personalization in Daily Deals & Flash Sales
- Baynote and Monetate Announce Partnership
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Webgility, which provides Quickbooks integrations for merchants, announced it is now part of the UPS Ready Program – completing the certification for its product eCommerceConnector (eCC). Merchants are continually looking for ways to make the shipping process more efficient (and less expensive) but there seems to be little in the way of development for the most part from the platform side.
Webgility previously supported UPS WorldShip, an application for PC’s that gave merchants the ability to access UPS services and generate UPS shipping labels. There were some limitations however, so as a certified UPS Ready software, eCC can integrate directly with UPS web services and provide shopping services directly from eCC.
"Our previous integration with UPS was dependent on the WorldShip software and the XML interface was limited. With UPS Direct, we can now provide a seamless integrated shipping experience for our customers and the feedback since launch has been tremendous. We're also able to provide multi-package, bulk shipping, tracking and address validation features which are essential for increasing fulfillment efficiency and reducing shipping errors," says Parag Mamnani, Founder and CEO of Webgility.
eCC enables eCommerce merchants to automate order fulfillment, inventory management and accounting process. The QuickBooks Gold certified software integrates with QuickBooks and QuickBooks Point of Sales, online shopping cart and marketplace platforms including BigCommerce, Magento, Pinnacle Cart, Amazon, and eBay to name a few, as well as payment processors like Authorize.net, PayPal, and QuickBooks Merchant Service) and major shipping processors (UPS, UPS WorldShip, etc.).
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Store Manager Extensions for eCommerce Templates – New Special Offer
posted by Lilian Rigo @ 2:00 AM
Friday, January 6, 2012
In a rush to find a drive candidate qualified for the job of store manager? Well, sure enough this position requires specific job duties and not everyone is capable of performing them well. Everything could be much more convenient and faster with the tools we’re about to suggest you. TemplateMonster now offers store manager solutions as an upsell offer to your Magento templates, PrestaShop templates, osCommerce templates, or Zen Cart templates purchase. You simply add the appropriate store manager extension in the shopping cart and pay for it along with a template payment (in this case the price will be cheaper).
So what these store managers will bring you? With these utilities you get a great opportunity to administer categories, products and attributes, customers, orders, and a lot of other things. Their functionality actually differs depending on the type of the eCommerce platform each store manager is made for. What’s for sure they will all manage multiple priorities to guarantee maximum sales and profitability in your store. Now let’s make out what these store managers actually do.
* * *
Having all-in-one store manager solution for Magento, you get a great opportunity to create and manage your categories, products, attributes, manufacturers; change product properties in bulk for multiple products at once; analyze your sales using multiple reports, add or manage customers, track customers’ orders, send instant e-mails to your customers, and provide discounts.
Store manager for Magento features:
- direct connection to the MySQL database (no additional php modules or server changes needed);
- instant changes – all changes you made are applied to your store immediately, no synchronization, no delayed updates;
- PHP MySQL bridge – work with your store without direct MySQL connection;
- embedded MySQL server – work locally with your data and apply changes to remote database after they are done;
- SSH support – for secure connections;
- Magento database backup/restore – keep your data safe;
- store configuration to edit all store settings in one window;
- encrypted passwords for increased security.
In case you already have a Magento template that you want to add this store manager functionality to, you can buy Magento store manager separately – its price would be $249. If you buy it with a new Magento template it will cost $199.
* * *
With store manager for PrestaShop you will be able to import and export a big amount of items; manage products, categories, attributes, orders, employees and a lot of other things much easier and faster than in usual native Back-End of online store. There is an ability to track product popularity, define best-seller products, orders totals, and do many other things.
Store manager for PrestaShop features:
- direct connection to the MySQL database;
- database backup/Restore to keep your data safe;
- store configuration to edit all store settings in one window;
- instant Changes – all changes you made applied to your store immediately;
- offline Mode – use PHP MySQL bridge to create offline connection that does not require persistent connection;
- user friendly interface;
- simple and quick installation. Just run installer and click Next several timer, no unintelligible options and parameters;
- supports latest MySQL versions including MySQL5. MySQL compressed protocol support for better speed.
In case you already have a PrestaSHop template that you want to add this store manager functionality to, you can buy PrestaShop store manager separately – its price would be $199. If you buy it with a new PrestaShop template it will cost $149.
* * *
Store manager for osCommerce was made to help you create and manage your categories, products, attributes, manufacturers; analyze your sales using multiple reports, add or manage customers, track customers’ orders, send instant e-mails to your customers, and provide discounts. Convenient and fast import/export of categories, products, customers, orders is available too.
Store manager for osCommerce features:
- multiple stores management (store your configuration data and quickly switch between stores);
- direct connection to the MySQL database;
- database backup/Restore to keep your data safe;
- instant Changes – all changes you made applied to your store immediately;
- offline Mode – use PHP MySQL bridge to create offline connection that does not require persistent connection;
- user friendly interface, simple and quick installation;
- encrypted passwords for increased security.
In case you already have a osCommerce template that you want to add this store manager functionality to, you can buy osCommerce store manager separately – its price would be $149. If you buy it with a new osCommerce template it will cost $98.
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Using Store Manager for Zen Cart in your online business will essentially widen your default admin web interface functionality. The store manager can be easily installed with the help of user-friendly Wizard. Then it will not only enable you to create and manage your categories, products, attributes and manufacturers more effectively, but also will help to make your sales analysis more profound using multiple reports.
Store manager for Zen Cart features:
- manage multiple stores, store your configuration data and switch quickly between stores;
- copy, paste and clone products using corresponding buttons, context menu options or drag-and-drop technology;
- manage product attributes, category tree and category images, quickly manage product attributes using extended attribute editor;
- track customers’ orders;
- add, delete or modify orders easily: change quantity, add or delete items, adjust shipping charges or sales tax, etc.;
- analyze your customers’ activity using Coupon redeem track;
- add, edit or remove countries, zones, tax zones, tax classes and tax rates in one place, thus saving you time;
- export categories, products, customers, orders into Excel file or .csv file, edit it and then import it back into your store.
In case you already have a PrestaSHop template that you want to add this store manager functionality to, you can buy Zen Cart store manager separately – its price would be $149. If you buy it with a new Zen Cart template it will cost $98.
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L’Oreal USA Selects PFSweb for More eCommerce Sites
posted by Peter A. Prestipino @ 1:45 PM
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Ecommerce solution provider PFSweb has signed an agreement with L'Oreal USA to develop and manage multiple end-to-end ecommerce solutions for some of L'Oreal's key brands.
PFSweb launched several ecommerce sites in 2010 for four L'Oreal brands including Kiehl's, Lancome, Yves St. Laurent Beaute and Giorgio Armani Beauty. Two more are expected this year.
The solutions according to the announcement include customer care functionality, branded order fulfillment, financial transaction management and interactive marketing services.
"We chose PFSweb because of their expertise in beauty and cosmetics. With their help we can provide considerably more flexible, functional and effective solutions to our customers," said Daren Hull, Vice President of Luxury Direct, L'Oreal USA. "By utilizing PFSweb, we are able to give each of our brands unique consideration, while also providing our consumers the same high quality service that they find anytime they experience our brands in stores. We also expect to leverage PFSweb's expertise to provide each brand with innovative programs that connect directly with our customers."
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You only get one first impression, and a landing page is the first impression of every successful website. Therefore, it is imperative to create a good one.
Successful ecommerce landing pages include aspects such as bold titles, eye-grabbing call-to-action buttons, easy navigational links and prominently featured promotions.
As the end of 2011 draws near, let’s view some of the best examples of ecommerce landing pages from the past 12 months:
The best part of this landing page is the brightly and prominently displayed prices, which are perfect for consumers shopping for a good deal (who isn’t?). Additionally, the gift guide and “Holi-deals” are highlighted in red for easy visibility. And conveniently, consumers have the option to visit sister stores by clicking on tabs at the top of the landing page.
No matter who or what a consumer is shopping for (men, women, kids, equipment or holiday gifts), this landing page features multiple eye-catching links on which to click. Not only does the main photo at the top of the page include links for different departments, but the departments are also featured directly underneath the image in a row of individual smaller photos. The landing page is direct, simple and sleek for easy end-user navigation.
This landing page includes many best practices, such as the large title of the brand and inclusion of the brand’s slogan. Other best practices include a large call-to-action button that says “Buy It Now,” as well as the word “FREE” in the upper right-hand corner and bottom left-hand corner – which, without a doubt, grabs the attention of consumers. Furthermore, the featured picture box changes about every 10 seconds, and the second featured box features a call-to-action button that enables consumers to view videos from the brand.
Although a bit busier than the previous examples, one of the best aspects of this page is the gift-finder, which is featured with bright colors on the left-hand side of the page. Not only does it allow consumers to choose who the gift is for, but it also allows them to choose a price range. Other best practices of this landing page include the golden ticket promotion that is featured next to the company’s name, as well as the “New” and “Christmas” tabs at the top of the page, which are highlighted in Green and Yellow.
This landing page notably features the Ugg’s Gift Boutique, which is an effective tactic during the holidays. Furthermore, on the right-hand side of the page, boots for both men and women are featured with call-to-action buttons. Lastly, the upper right corner prominently features the company’s shipping and return policy (free), which is an important factor for consumers.
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Digital River Offers B2B Ecommerce Solution
posted by Linc Wonham @ 3:00 AM
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Selling directly to business buyers has increased margin efficiency and produced renewal rates of 30 percent for many ecommerce companies. The new cloud-based, business-to-business solution from Digital River enables merchants to sell directly to business buyers by tailoring their services and using authenticated portals, segmented pricing, preferred payment methods, private reseller networks and more.
“Today’s business buyers are demanding more from their online purchases,” says Joel Ronning, Digital River’s CEO. “They are demanding unprecedented levels of self-service, content, flexibility, and integration across channels and locales. Our enhanced B2B solution helps online merchants answer this call in a way that no other solution can.”
Digital River’s B2B solution offers online merchants the ability to do the following:
• Streamline system integrations – expand and enhance current online capabilities by integrating Digital River’s commerce solutions with traditional business platforms and systems, including ERP, CRM or partner management systems.
• Reach new global markets – secure access to markets across the globe and reach underserved channels with flexible solutions and an international resource network of local tax professionals, payment specialists and regional marketing experts.
• Launch channel-specific sites – customize the B2B shopping experience by offering authenticated portals, and segmented and tiered pricing for specific channel partners or key accounts.
• Streamline the transaction process – tailor the purchasing process to meet company requirements with multiple seller- and merchant-of-record model options.
• Secure ownership of the customer lifecycle – drive reccurring revenue by maintaining access to valuable channel customer data and establishing direct customer relationships.
“According to forecasts, the global ecommerce market is poised for tremendous growth – and we expect that B2B will be an important driving force behind it,” says Ronning. “Companies can not only take advantage of this increasing revenue opportunity, but also deliver a world-class user experience that drives operational efficiencies and reduces conflict across their sales channels.”
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Eighty Percent of Consumers Want Payment Alternatives
posted by Michael Garrity @ 5:00 PM
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Online and mobile credit card payments just can’t seem to shake the stigma of being somewhat risky propositions. No matter how many security advancements are developed, many consumers still can’t fully get on board with the idea.
Javelin Strategy and Research recently conducted a consumer survey that highlights these still-prevalent fears. In fact, 80 percent of consumers said they “would spend more money online if they considered credit cards safer and had payment alternatives.” As a result, Javelin estimates that customers would spend as much as $109.8 billion more than they currently do online if there were a “no credit card required” method of payment.
The survey, commissioned by PaymentOne, was conducted in fall 2011 and polled over 2,000 U.S. adults. Most of the concerns they expressed about credit card usage were related to privacy, such as their personal data being acquired by advertisers, marketers or hackers.
Some other notable findings in the survey include:
- 95 percent of the respondents owned mobile phones, but just 36 percent had ever used the devices to purchase something — including apps, games, music and media streaming.
- 55 percent of consumers fear merchants or websites will send them junk mail.
- 54 percent fear their information is being sold to other merchants.
- 51 percent worry that their credit card information will be intercepted online.
- 41 percent fear that merchants will misuse their credit card information.
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In-Store Mobile Apps Coming to a Retailer Near You
posted by AllisonH @ 11:00 PM
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Mobile isn’t going away any time soon, which poses a lot of questions for retailers looking to optimize their brand's mobile experience for consumers.
While options such as geo-location apps or mobile compatible websites are good ones, a different possibility is rising in popularity among retailers – in-store apps.
According to a recent survey of retail executives that was commissioned by mobile commerce solution provider AisleBuyer, only 14 percent of respondents currently have a mobile app. However, 50 percent of those that don’t have a mobile app are planning on introducing a shopping app in 2012.
Among the group of retailers planning on introducing a shopping app, 54 percent plan to include promotion functionality as part of the app, while 24 percent plan to add mobile self-checkout, and 46 percent plan to introduce a tablet-based mobile store associate app for employees.
“Retailers clearly view mobile as the key to enhancing the in-store experience,” says Andrew Paradise, AisleBuyer’s CEO. "From mobile self-checkout to equipping store associates with tablets, the survey data validates the major shift we are seeing in the use of mobile in stores. Mobile apps provide retailers with a wealth of previously unavailable information on in-store shopper behavior that will ultimately improve revenue, profitability and customer loyalty.”
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Social media commerce continues to grow, and many ecommerce companies are slowly starting to focus more of their efforts on moving into the market. Whether or not this is the future of online shopping is yet to be seen, but many online properties certainly seem to think that it might.
The latest convert is the online coupon site RetailMeNot, which recently launched its “Today’s Top Deals” Facebook application “to help consumers shop smart and save money during the 2011 holiday shopping season.” The app includes coupons, promotional codes and special deals from some of the company’s merchants, allowing customers to save an average of almost $20 on products and services. Some of the more notable merchants with “Today’s Top Deals” listings are Overstock.com, The Gap, Cooking.com, Dell and PetCo.
“Social media continues to play a more heightened role in how we communicate to consumers. The ‘Today’s Top Deals’ app will help us get the best deals to our fans on Facebook,” says RetailMeNot’s Senior Vice President, Jag Bath.
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Customer Recovery Calculator from UpSellit
posted by AllisonH @ 1:30 PM
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
For many ecommerce merchants, reviewing analytics such as conversion and shopping cart abandonment rates is a necessary, but tedious process.
However, a new tool from site and cart abandonment solutions provider UpSellit, helps merchants review and predict some of their website analytics through a simple process. The UpSellit Customer Recovery Calculator identifies site and cart abandonment rates as well as compares specific websites to other sites in the same industry.
By using the Customer Recovery Calculator, merchants can not only obtain their site and cart abandonment rates, but also view their site's projectected potential lift in conversions – which is estimated through a history of performance data from UpSellit’s partners.
According to UpSellit's Marketing Director Bryan Gudmundson, the calculator compares the user's site performance with baseline performance metrics in order to predict a merchant's possible increase in conversions.
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Intuit’s F-Commerce Offering SimpleStore Arrives
posted by Peter A. Prestipino @ 1:15 PM
Monday, December 5, 2011
Intuit, best known for its business and financial management software solutions for SMB’s, announced the release of SimpleStore for Facebook, an f-commerce solution which enables merchants to sync their website and Facebook page.
Perhaps the single biggest benefit of SimpleStore for Facebook is the one-page checkout which is made possible by Intuit’s Web Payment services. Small business owners can accept credit or debit card payments directly on Facebook with no added log-ins required for the customer. Since Intuit Web Payment is already tied to a users’ merchant account, small businesses receive payment directly (and quickly) from Intuit, whether a sale is made on their website or Facebook page.
There is currently a 30-day free trial of the service, costing roughly $35/mo thereafter.
“In today’s online world, it is more important than ever for small businesses to be where their customers are and this holiday season they have the ability to sell to Facebook’s 800 million users,” said Barry Saik, vice president and general manager of Intuit's Grow Your Business division. “This tool will allow small businesses to be everywhere at once, capturing online shopping traffic through both their website and Facebook page.”
There’s a lot of interest in Facebook commerce (f-commerce) today but the verdict is still out for merchants in relation to how well it is performing. Got an opinion on f-commerce? Share with the Website Magazine community by commenting below.
Related F-Commerce Content on at WebsiteMagazine:
- Facebook Commerce for the Socially Challenged
- Master List of Facebook Commerce platforms
- In-Stream Checkout with ShopIgniter
- The Socialization of Online Commerce
- Wishpond F-Commerce for the Brick & Mortar Set
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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.
Although this inspirational motto can be applied to many aspects of life, merchants should definitely apply it when optimizing their e-commerce sites. However, keep in mind that “trying and trying again” is simply guesswork unless there is data backing up the testing – this is where multivariate tools come into play.
By using testing tools, merchants can analyze elements of an e-commerce site, such as page layout, call-to-action buttons, product pages and more. And unlike A/B testing, multivariate testing allows many different elements to be combined and tested at the same time – so that websites can be optimized to best fit consumer needs and increase conversions.
Therefore, it is time to find a method to your madness – check out these ten top multivariate testing tools:
Part of the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite and powered by Omniture, this tool allows merchants to continually make their online content and offers more relevant to their customers – which increases conversions. In fact, Reader's Digest had a 47-percent increase in conversions after conducting and evaluating testing using this solution. Furthermore, the Test&Target interface allows merchants to design and execute tests, create audience segments and target content.
This solution allows merchants to test several elements on a page and identify the winning combination within each element. Amadesa features “Pick the Winner” technology, which ensures that underperforming combinations are quickly eliminated. Amadesa also identifies the contribution that each element makes to the overall success of a particular combination, as well as helps determine which creative elements should be used across product or article pages.
The multivariate testing tool from GlobalMaxer allows merchants to test multiple variations of page elements in a live environment so that successful page combinations can be found. Testing helps merchants find combinations that provide greater uplift in conversions, better access to certain areas of a site, as well as better dwell time. Commonly tested elements include fonts, colors, logos, body copy, images and navigation. This solution also provides cultural multivariate testing, which isolates factors that have the biggest cultural impact on Web conversions.
With this free website testing and optimization tool, merchants can increase the value of existing Web traffic, which leads to the question – what doesn’t Google do? The Site Optimizer helps merchants test site content and design, while monitoring which combinations lead to the highest conversion rates. By taking advantage of this tool, merchants can increase ROI, visitor satisfaction and eliminate guesswork.
Merchants can optimize customer experiences through A/B and multivariate testing from Maxymiser’s MaxTEST. Instead of "gut feelings" and guessing games, website optimization is based on data that is derived from online traffic feedback. With this customer feedback, merchants can increase their revenue and ROI through higher conversion rates, provide an enhanced site experience and decrease risks associated with design changes.
Monetate automatically creates a control group for every campaign so that merchants can view the impact that a campaign has on key metrics such as conversion, average order value, cart abandonment and more. Merchants can gather data and run advanced tests through A/B and multivariate testing. Furthermore, the platform offers targeting options for making better connections with customers, which equals better conversion rates, more returning customers and higher average order values.
With OfferMaxima, merchants can test and optimize different website designs, email or direct marketing campaigns and printed ads. OfferMaxima’s technology can be used to target specific marketing offers, products and content to different segments of visitors. Benefits include reduced likelihood of false positives, validation results by audience and decisions that can be based on reliable samples.
Sitecore’s solution allows merchants to create A/B and multivariate tests from the in-line editing interface. Testing can include page components or entire site items. By optimizing everything from content on the homepage to call-to-action button appearance, merchants can increase conversion quantity and quality. Furthermore, Sitecore provides continuous feedback on site performance and customer engagement through Web-based reports.
Test many changes simultaneously and evaluate the impact of combinations on conversion goals with multivariate testing from SiteSpect. This solution allows merchants to set up and test within minutes, as well as quickly determine the impact from each variation. Additionally, merchants can evaluate results during and after each test campaign.
This solution provides merchants with fast results from Vertster’s multivariate testing algorithm. Merchants can stop guessing about site design because Vertster allows them to measure the effectiveness of thousands of page design possibilities simultaneously. Furthermore, the site testing is SEO safe and enables merchants to conduct anything from simple A/B testing to powerful Taguchi testing.
Webtrends Optimize combines testing and targeting platforms with optimization expertise. The solution’s recommended approach starts with general testing against all traffic, which is followed by testing optimal content against key segments (returning vs. new visitor, time of day, geo-targeting etc). After determining the optimals by segment, content can be used to target, which allows merchants to personalize content based on insights.
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Just because Cyber Monday is over, doesn’t mean that holiday website traffic is going to slow down.
And while this may be welcome news to retailers, it is important to make sure that websites are optimized for the holidays – Check out these Website tips from content delivery network Mirror Image.
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Just in time for the holidays, language services solutions provider TransPerfect has announced PCI DSS certification for making online transactions more secure over multilingual e-commerce sites.
Read more in Website Magazine's E-commerce Express.
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Feel Good About the Holidays with GoodShop
posted by Michael Garrity @ 8:30 PM
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Some of the top retail companies on the Web are teaming up to help those in need this holiday season.
GoodShop.com specializes in partnering with online retailers for charitable causes. When consumers make a purchase on a participating ecommerce site, a portion of the proceeds go to the charity or school of the shopper's choice.
Over 2,500 retailers have jumped on board with GoodShop, including Target, Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Gap, Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic and many more. Well over 103,000 non-profit organizations such as Unicef and The American Red Cross have also joined up to receive benefits from the program.
Goodshop works in conjunction with GoodSearch, a Yahoo-powered search engine that pays a penny to a non-profit organization every time a user conducts a search, and GoodDining, which pays out a percentage of the bill to a charity or school every time a customer eats at one of more than 10,000 participating restaurants.
So far, the combined efforts of the GoodSearch companies have helped raise over $43,000 for animals in need through ASPCA and over $15,000 for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, among a great many other charitable and educational causes they support.
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Right in time for the holiday shopping – and shipping – season, ecommerce software provider Miva Merchant has become a UPS Ready® Provider through an integration with UPS services. UPS’s services and functionalities are now included in the Miva Merchant 5.5 PR8 Update 4 Release.
“Being a UPS Ready partner is very important to us, because approximately two-thirds of our customers use UPS and this update will make their lives much easier,” says Miva Merchant President and COO, Rick Wilson.
The integration of UPS services is designed to improve the process of picking, packing and shipping for Miva Merchant e-commerce store owners.
Miva merchant users will have access to rate information for UPS domestic and international shipments, UPS label generation from the administration area, ability to customize shipping rules (based on order totals, quantities, weights and geographical restrictions), and more including support for dimensional shipping requirements, and fallback shipping controls.
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Digital marketing agency Acquity Group has announced a new partnership with on-demand ecommerce solutions provider Demandware. The collaboration aims to empower retailers to deliver a higher-quality, customized online shopping experience for their customers.
Acquity Group’s client base will have access to Demandware’s ecommerce platform, which provides retailers with the merchandising flexibility to better serve the demands of their customers. Similarly, current and future Demandware clients can leverage Acquity Group’s award-winning digital marketing expertise to complement the platform’s technology.
“Our solution partners are extremely valuable, as they have specialized training to implement our technology in a way that drives the most business value for our clients,” says Demandware CEO Tom Ebling. “Acquity Group is a very well-respected leader in brand ecommerce and we look forward to growing our relationship from here.”
The new alliance could prove to be an important one for retailers looking to enhance their online presence. Boot Barn – the world’s largest western wear retailer – has already seen positive results from the partnership.
Boot Barn turned to Acquity Group to impact growth, customer satisfaction, user experience and brand recognition. In combination with Demandware’s ecommerce platform, Boot Barn emerged with a completely rebranded digital presence and new design for Bootbarn.com. The initiative has thus far won an Interactive Media Award and a Horizon Interactive Award for Boot Barn.
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Online research firm comScore has reported that U.S. retail ecommerce spending for the first 25 days of the November – December 2011 holiday season has reached $12.7 billion so far, marking a 15-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year.
Black Friday saw $816 million in online sales, making it the heaviest online spending day to date in 2011 and representing a 26-percent increase versus Black Friday 2010. Thanksgiving Day, while traditionally a lighter day for online holiday spending, achieved a strong 18-percent increase to $479 million.
“Despite some analysts’ predictions that the flurry of brick-and-mortar retailers opening their doors early for Black Friday would pull dollars from online retail, we still saw a banner day for ecommerce with more than $800 million in spending,” says comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. “With brick-and-mortar retail also reporting strong gains on Black Friday, it’s clear that the heavy promotional activity had a positive impact on both channels. We now turn our attention to Cyber Monday, a day that Shop.org says will see 8-in-10 retailers running special online promotions. Last year, Cyber Monday was the heaviest day of online spending ever, with sales exceeding $1 billion, and we fully expect to see another record set this year.”
Fifty million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 35 percent versus year ago. Each of the top five retail sites achieved double-digit gains in visitors vs. last year, led by Amazon. Walmart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple.
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How to Destroy Your eBay Business
Don’t be fooled. What you are about to discover could prevent your eBay business from failing. Reputation is everything when selling on ebay and when tarnished with the wrong type you will forever struggle to regain buyer’s confidence. Be very aware of the following and by ensuring you are never guilty of any of these, you have every chance for eBay success.
Untruths: If it does not work, don’t sell it. Don’t say it’s in perfect condition when it has a defect of any Lind. Honesty will be rewarded.
Your auctions end anytime: If your auction ends say during the middle of the night, how many potential bidders do you think will be around to create that bidding frenzy? How many will be around to ensure that they are the winner?. Ensure your eBay auction finishes at a “profitable” time.
Why would you ever sell rubbish?: If you would not be prepared to sell it elsewhere else, don’t expect a rush of bidders just because it is eBay. If you think that you can make good money selling anything that you can pick up then think again. EBay buyers are just as discerning as any other buyers. And they won’t buy rubbish either!
Never give discounts: Ever considered that a special deal might just seal a sale to a very happy and grateful customer that will make them return to your site to buy again. EBay is still like the real world, discounts and special deals are always good incentives to make sales. Don’t ignore their power.
Unattractive listings: The easiest way to make a potential bidder click the back button is to have your listing full of noise, clutter, colour, capital letters, wrong font. You get the answer. Just because it is eBay, does not mean you can be bold and brash with your listing. What listings are professional and successful? Look at them and copy their ideas.
Photos. Who needs them?: You do! Never, I repeat, never make an auction listing without the benefit of a photo of the item. All eBay Power Sellers use photos, so make sure you do to. As a customer, you will want to see the item that you are buying, so have the same atitude as a seller. And the more photos the better. Leave no question unanswered by the use of photos.
Only use a short description: Never think that a two line quick description shall do.The more information that you give the potential bidders, the more inclinded they will be to place a bid. EBay is all about giving as much information as possible so an informed decision can be made by the person as to whether they wish to bid or not. Never let a potential bidder click off because they did not have enough information on which to make a decision.
Ignore emails: A potential bidder may want to ask you a specific question about the item. This person could be the winning bidder; they may start what could turn into a bidding frenzy. You don’t know, so don’t restrict your opportunities by giving poor service by ignoring emails. If the customer does not receive a reply from you, how likely is is that they will bid?
Posting at your leisure: An ebay customer will remember, they will post bad feedback and your reputation will suffer all because your mailing of the itemjwas not efficiently dispatched. A last point, don’t overcharge on the posting. There is a fair post charge and there is a blatant money making postage charge. Don’t antagonise the customer, here is someone that is liable to buy from you again so treat them well and that will be rewarded.
Sell on eBay: How To Write Profitable Listings?
posted by Web_University @ 8:00 AM
Friday, November 19, 2010
Sell on eBay: How To Write Profitable Listings?
It is a simple fact that if you sell on eBay and receive only minimal views on your listings then the lower the bidding or amount of sales will be. It does not matter how detailed and professional your listings look, viewings are the key. And the key to increasing the number of viewings is research!
In order to research, you must first take a look at what other sellers, especially Powersellers of the same items, are doing. What keywords do they use? Which categories are they listing in? Do their listings trigger an emotional need so that the reader simply has to buy now? How many photographs do they have and what quality are these? Take a good hard look at how they sell on eBay to get ideas for your own listings.
When a potential buyer reads your listings, they are looking for good value. So, you must add value to your products. Adding value does not always mean giving something extra free or doing something to the actual product! You just need to achieve a perceived added value which will catch the reader’s attention when they look at your description. So added value could be something as simple as offering a no quibble 30 day money back guarantee. If your competitors who sell on eBay are not offering this then you have added value to your product. The same goes for your listing description – photographs add value, as do the benefits of the product.
Make sure that you write your description well and always include photographs – people like to see exactly what they are buying! It is important to remember when you to write your description in a friendly, informative manner, as though you are talking personally to the reader as this will encourage them to continue reading and arouse their interest.
If your product has lots of features and especially benefits, then make sure you include them in your listing. Do not drone on and on, but be clear and concise and tell the potential buyer exactly why they must buy your item right now.
To sell on eBay effectively, you need to invest some time into creating that added value as ultimately your listings will attract more views and sales. Bearing this in mind, there is nothing more off putting to a potential buyer than seeing a confusing listing before them! Not everyone is a technical whiz so where possible use simple layman’s terms in your description. Show all your Payment, Shipping and Dispatch Times so that they can be easily seen and understood so that buyers can work out total costs and approximate delivery dates at a glance.
If people feel at ease with your auction listing, then they are much more likely to bid or buy. So it is important when you sell on eBay that you are completely honest. If there happens to be a fault with a product, tell buyers what it is as this will show that you are not trying to mislead anyone. Really, the simple rule is to think about what you would like to know about the item if you were buying it, and then add all these thoughts to your description. Don’t miss bits out because if all the information is there in front of the potential bidder or buyer then they are more likely to bid or buy right now.
As your views and sales grow, you must encourage your bidders and buyers to look at your other listings because a big part of your eBay sales strategy is to get bidders to purchase more items from you. So, if you are selling a supplementary or complimentary item let your buyers know and highlight the fact that you offer combined postage if they purchase both items!
When you sell on eBay, your listings should be regarded as an opportunity to establish relationships with buyers. You then need to look after these buyers so that they come back to you time and again. Never think in one-off transactions, even if they do end up as a one-off, because your ebay income depends on customers to guarantee you success!
Still feeling a little frustrated getting started on E-Bay? Don’t feel too bad, recent changes like “Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR)” and “discounts for sellers,” have made it challenging for even the experienced sellers.
To some, the changes didn’t sound like anything to be concerned about, but some saw through the plan and noticed other phrases in there, like “removal of bad feedback for buyers” and saw the potential for smaller businesses to be shut out. This is a notion we are seeing proven accurate months later.
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